Eggless pumpkin pie recipe that is entirely plant-based. Creamy, sweet, and luscious! Make entirely from scratch, or use store-bough crust. The creamy pumpkin filling has a secret ingredient that will make this pie pop. It’s absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor!
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💡 The recipe in a nutshell
- Vegan (Eggless and dairy free)
- Traditional American baking made plant based
- Secret ingredient: Chinese 5 spice
- Creamy and pumpkin-y
- Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert
🥧 Store-bought or homemade crust?
Making pie crust from scratch can seem intimidating for various reasons, especially for baking beginners. Preparing a pie crust takes time and practice indeed, but once you get the hang of it you'll never want to go back. It is such a rewarding, fun and delicious experience! If you are planning on feeding people with a fully made from scratch pie I definitely recommend practicing it a couple times beforehand. However, feel free to use a store-bought ready-to-bake pie dough or shell.
🍽 Equipment
To make a pie from scratch you will need some kitchen equipment.
- ∅12 cm / 9" pie pan for the pie itself
- A food processor to make the crust - easier, mess-free, and quicker!
- Pie crust shield (or foil) - protects the crust from browning too much
- Rolling pin to roll out pie crust
- Electric mixer or whisk to make the pie filling
🍰 More desserts
Try this vegan s'mores pie that will give you campfire vibes at home. If you are looking for a more refreshing dessert try these delicate fruit tarts with custard. For more vegan dessert ideas browse our desserts & sweets page.
📖 Recipe
Eggless Pumpkin Pie with Flaky Crust (vegan)
Eggless pumpkin pie recipe that is entirely plant-based. Creamy, sweet, and luscious! Make entirely from scratch, or use store-bought crust. The creamy pumpkin filling has a secret ingredient that will make this pie pop. It’s absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor!
Equipment
- ∅12 cm / 9-inch pie pan, food processor, pie crust shell
Ingredients
Flaky Pie Crust (alternative: store bought pie crust)
- 315 g unbleached all-purpose flour (2 ½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 120 g vegetable shortening (½ cup)
- 110 g vegan butter (½ cup)
- 100 ml ice water, more if needed (⅓ cup)
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 600 g pumpkin puree (2 ½ cups)
- 100 g plant based yogurt (½ cup)
- 50 g maple syrup (¼ cup)
- 25 g brown sugar (⅛ cup)
- 20 g corn starch (1 ½ tbsp)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla exract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ teaspoon chinese five spice
Instructions
- Prior to beginning, gather all ingredients and utensils you'll need. Make sure all the ingredients are cold. I do that by sticking everything in the fridge over night (or in the freezer for 30 minutes) prior to preparing the dough. Cutting the shortening and butter up into small chunks prior to chilling it, will help you with working with it immediately. You want the fat to stay as cold as possible.
- Add flour, salt, sugar into a food processor and mix together shortly. Add butter and shortening and pulse until crumbly. (Works best pulsing in 1- to 2-second bursts until most of the fat is the size of peas). If you don't have a food processor, mix everything quickly with a fork in a bowl.
- Once everything is crumbly add the iced water to the food processor/bowl. Pulse until dough begins to clump into small balls. Don’t allow the dough to become completely one single mass during processing! This is necessary to get that flaky pie crust texture. You want the dough to hold together, but you’re not making bread or pizza dough.
- Gently press the dough together with your hands. If it does not hold together, you may need a bit more ice water. Divide the dough in ⅔ and ⅓. Press each piece into a round flat disk (wrap in plastic wrap, parchment, wax paper or put into an airtight container). Chill for at least 30 minutes*. While the dough is chilling you can prepare the filling.
- In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients for the filling and whisk together. Either with an electric hand or stand mixer, or by hand with a whisk. Once everything is well combined, set aside. If necessary close the bowl with its lid, or wrap with plastic wrap/wax paper.You don’t want clumps of starch or of spices in there! Make sure to sieve the starch into the filling mixture to prevent clumps and to mix everything thoroughly.
- Once the dough is chilled, take out the bigger part and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. This will be our shell. Make sure you have enough space when rolling it out! You can either roll it out on your clean countertop or on a pastry board.
- Place the dough in the center of the floured surface and flour the top of the dough as well. Sprinkle the chilled rolling pin with some flour as well. With uniform pressure on the pin, roll the dough from the center out in all directions. Try keeping the dough in a circular shape. Rotate the dough itself rather than by moving the pin. Periodically, make sure the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface by sliding your hand (or a pastry scraper/spatula) beneath it and sprinkling some flour on the counter, if necessary. It can be tricky but try not to use too much flour, or the crust could turn dense and chewy, instead of light and flaky.
- Roll the dough 5 – 6cm (2,5 inches) wider than your pan so you will have plenty of dough for covering the entire pan and for creating a rim (if wanted). Gently place your pan upside down in the center of the dough for calculating the width.
- Once rolled out transfer the dough to your pan: roll it loosely around your rolling pin. Center the pin over one side of the pan, and then gently unroll the dough. Patch any holes or cracks with dough scraps by first lightly moistening the scraps with cold water. When the dough completely covers the pan, trim the edges with scissors. Put the prepared pie crust pan in the fridge until ready for filling and baking.
- Get out the other chilled piece of dough and roll out, just like before. You can either cut out even strips and make a lattice top, you could braid some of the strips or simply cut out pieces with cookie cutters/pie crust cutters of your choice. I rolled out the dough into a big circle and cut out parts with fall themed leaf pie crust cutters. Once cut out I put them on an even surface and then back into the fridge (or shortly in the freezer) to chill. When the cutouts are chilled they are way easier to handle!
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 355°F.
- Pour your prepared filling into your (pre-baked) pie crust. Get out the chilled lattices or cutouts. Top your pie with your favorite pastry design; or leave uncovered. It’s important that the pie goes into the hot oven as soon as possible or the filling will begin to soften the bottom crust.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the outermost of the filling is set. If the edges of the pie are browning too much during baking, cover with pie crust shield. Don’t worry if the center is still a bit soft; it continues to firm up as the pie is cooling down.
- Turn off the oven, and leave the pie in the oven for another 15 minutes.This helps everything to set properly. Take the pie out of the oven, and allow it to cool fully on the counter before slicing. Enjoy! Tastes great with some toasted nuts (like pecans or walnuts) and plant based whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or yogurt on top.
Notes
*Chilling time of the crust: Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to several days before rolling. The dough can also be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw completely before rolling. That makes it a perfect "Make-Ahead" dough that'll save you some time on the actual baking day!
PS: Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment on your experience - this helps improve my recipes and serves you with the best instructions, tips, and substitution ideas. Plus, I love hearing about your takes on my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplesprinkle to show me your pictures.
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